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The latest news in the New Governor Shuffle: Civil Service Commissioner Nancy Groenwegen is heading to Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office as General Counsel.

Groenwegen was appointed to Civil Service during the early Spitzer Administration but has worked as an Assistant AG under Robert Abrams and worked in the Civil Service shop during the Mario Cuomo years. She has been credited with working to modernize the Civil Service system and her husband Paul has handled some significant appeals for the Attorney General’s office.

No word yet on who Andrew Cuomo will name as a replacement at Civil Service.

Here are the details:

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the appointment of
Nancy Groenwegen as general counsel for the Office of the State
Comptroller. Groenwegen will lead a staff of 40 lawyers, and her
responsibilities will include oversight of the comptroller’s
investigations and ethics compliance units.

“Nancy Groenwegen has built a reputation for integrity, leadership and a
strong legal mind,” DiNapoli said. “New York is facing a very
challenging time, and Nancy’s skills, advice and counsel will help us
meet those challenges. She’ll be a tremendous asset to OSC. We’re
fortunate that Nancy Groenwegen chose to continue her public service
career with the Office of the State Comptroller.”

Governor David A. Paterson thanked Groenwegen for her service since 2007
as president of the Civil Service Commission and commissioner of the
Department of Civil Service.

“Nancy has been both forthright and sensitive as we have together
confronted the daunting challenge of rebuilding the state workforce at
the same time that we reduce its size. She has been a forceful champion
of the civil service system’s extraordinary record of ensuring that
standards of merit and fitness remain a stout barrier to any return of
the spoils system.

“I thank her as well,” Governor Paterson said, “for her work to make
sure the state workforce more nearly reflects all of New York State’s
diversity. Nancy made it her department’s goal to ensure that all ethnic
and racial minorities and persons with disabilities had full knowledge
and opportunities to compete for positions in public service.”

Prior to her appointment as commissioner, Groenwegen served as an
assistant attorney general in the New York State Department of Law. She
previously worked as the counsel for policy and employee relations
services at the New York State School Boards Association. Groenwegen
also held a variety of positions in Governor Mario M. Cuomo’s
administration, including assistant counsel in the Governor’s Office of
Employee Relations and deputy commissioner and chief counsel in the
Departments of Civil Service and Labor. She began her career as an
assistant attorney general in the Department of Law.

Groenwegen graduated from the Boston University School of Law and the
State University of New York at Albany. She resides in Glenmont with her
husband Paul and son Philip. Groenwegen’s salary will be $160,000
annually.

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